Drug prescribing pattern in upper respiratory tract infections among the pediatric population attending outpatient clinics in pediatric hospitals

Table 4 Intergroup comparison between the study populations when classified according to antibiotic administration status, n (%)

		Antibiotic prescription		P value
		Yes	No
Antitussive medicine	No	88 (76.5)	51 (60.0)	0.012
	Yes	27 (23.5)	34 (40.0)
Antipyretics	Yes	107 (93.0)	63 (74.1)	< 0.001
	No	8 (7.0)	22 (25.9)
Type of antipyretic	Paracetamol	12 (11.1)	27 (42.9)	< 0.001
	Ibuprofen	57 (52.8)	25 (39.7)
	Diclofenac Na/K	16 (14.8)	9 (14.3)
	Combinations	23 (21.3)	2 (3.2)
Route of administration of antibiotics	Orally	73 (63.5)	1 (1.2)	< 0.001
	Injection	21 (18.3)	0 (0.0)
	Both	21 (18.3)	0 (0.0)
	No	0 (0.0)	84 (98.8)
Laboratory investigations: Complete blood count and CRP	Not done	41 (35.7)	15 (17.6)	0.005
	Done	74 (64.3)	70 (82.4)
TLC in number	High	20 (26.7)	6 (8.6)	0.005
	Normal	55 (73.3)	64 (91.4)
TLC (differential count)	Normal	52 (69.3)	57 (81.4)	0.002
	Neutrophilia	18 (24.0)	3 (4.3)
	Lymphocytosis	5 (6.7)	8 (11.4)
	Eosinophilia	0 (0.0)	1 (1.4)
	Monocytosis	0 (0.0)	1 (1.4)
CRP	Positive	31 (41.3)	3 (4.6)	< 0.001
	Negative	44 (58.7)	62 (95.4)

CRP: C-reactive protein; TLC: total leukocyte count.